The importance of intellectual diversity and civility in our law schools and legal profession cannot be taken for granted. This is why the Runnymede Society exists, and why we need your support this Giving Tuesday as we prepare for our biggest year yet. 

Across Canada, Runnymede’s 17 student chapters and seven lawyer chapters serve as a vital forum where important legal issues can be freely discussed and rigorously debated by our country’s brightest legal minds. In doing so, our non-partisan Society ensures that law students and lawyers are exposed to the ideals of constitutionalism, fundamental freedoms, and the rule of law. 

Over the past several weeks, we have been reminded of how these sacrosanct principles are too often treated with suspicion – if not outright hostility – in our institutions of higher learning. Runnymede plays a crucial role in creating a constructive space in which the accepted wisdom of Canadian legal thought can be rigorously examined and evaluated by students, professors, and lawyers alike. 

Students who join Runnymede are given an unique opportunity to deepen their respect for the rule of law by joining a growing network of scholars and jurists who understand the ongoing need to preserve and uphold Canada’s rich constitutional heritage. In the words of one of our former law student members: 

“The Runnymede Society has had a tremendously positive impact on me as a law student and legal professional. I was introduced to the Runnymede Society in law school. A law professor with whom I had a good rapport hosted a lunch-hour book club sponsored by Runnymede. That law professor later served as a reference for my successful Supreme Court of Canada clerkship application. 

Thanks to the Runnymede Society, there is a growing network of young lawyers and law students committed to Runnymede’s shared values. The members of this network are increasingly well-equipped to interrogate the dominant orthodox legal culture in Canada and to articulately defend Canada’s traditional principles of the rule of law, constitutionalism, and fundamental freedoms.” 

Your donation will help us continue to expand Runnymede’s network of students, law professors, and lawyers in 2024 and beyond. Contributions help to cover: 

• the travel costs of speakers who participate in the lectures, panels, and debates hosted by our student and lawyer chapters; 
• sponsorships for student chapter leaders to attend our national Law & Freedom conference, taking place next year in Toronto from February 2-3; 
• the publication of our annual journal and forum for heterodox legal thought, the Dicey Law Review; and 
• prizes, scholarships, and fellowships for law students who share Runnymede’s commitment to constitutionalism, fundamental freedoms, and the rule of law.